North Korea's war of words escalates -- Timeline of a crisis

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with North Korea's first female fighter jet pilots in this undated photo released by the country's state media on Monday, June 22. He called the women "heroes of Korea" and "flowers of the sky."

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim stands on the snow-covered top of Mount Paektu in North Korea in a photo taken by North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun on April 18 and released the next day by South Korean news agency Yonhap. Kim scaled the country's highest mountain, North Korean state-run media reported, arriving at the summit to tell soldiers that the hike provides mental energy more powerful than nuclear weapons.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim Jong Un, center, poses with soldiers on the snow-covered top of Mount Paektu in an April 18 photo released by South Korean news agency Yonhap.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim visits the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, North Korea, on April 15 to celebrate the 103rd birth anniversary of his grandfather, North Korean founder Kim Il Sung.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim inspects a drill for seizing an island at an undisclosed location in North Korea in an undated picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on February 21.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim speaks during a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released February 19 by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

A picture released by the North Korean Central News Agency shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appearing without his cane at an event with military commanders in Pyongyang on Tuesday, November 4. Kim, who recently disappeared from public view for about six weeks, had a cyst removed from his right ankle, a lawmaker told CNN.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim is seen walking with a cane in this image released Thursday, October 30, by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim sits in the pilot's seat of a fighter jet during the inspection.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

This undated photo, released Tuesday, October 14, by the KCNA, shows Kim inspecting a housing complex in Pyongyang, North Korea. International speculation about Kim went into overdrive after he failed to attend events on Friday, October 10, the 65th anniversary of the Workers' Party. He hadn't been seen in public since he reportedly attended a concert with his wife on September 3.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

A picture released by the KCNA shows Kim and his wife watching a performance by the Moranbong Band on Wednesday, September 3, in Pyongyang.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim tours a front-line military unit in this image released Wednesday, July 16, by the KCNA.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim poses for a photo as he oversees a tactical rocket-firing drill in June.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim watches a tactical rocket-firing drill in June.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

A North Korean soldier patrols the bank of the Yalu River, which separates the North Korean town of Sinuiju from the Chinese border town of Dandong, on Saturday, April 26.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

In this photo released Thursday, April 24, by the Korean Central News Agency, Kim smiles with female soldiers after inspecting a rocket-launching drill at an undisclosed location.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

A picture released Tuesday, March 18, by the KCNA shows Kim attending a shooting practice at a military academy in Pyongyang.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

A North Korean soldier uses binoculars on Thursday, February 6, to look at South Korea from the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

A North Korean soldier kicks a pole along the banks of the Yalu River on Tuesday, February 4.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

A photo released by the KCNA on Thursday, January 23, shows the North Korean leader inspecting an army unit during a winter drill.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim inspects the command of an army unit in this undated photo released Sunday, January 12, by the KCNA.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim visits an army unit in this undated photo.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim inspects a military factory in this undated picture released by the KCNA in May 2013.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim visits the Ministry of People's Security in 2013 as part of the country's May Day celebrations.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

A North Korean soldier, near Sinuiju, gestures to stop photographers from taking photos in April 2013.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

North Korean soldiers patrol near the Yalu River in April 2013.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim is briefed by his generals in this undated photo. On the wall is a map titled "Plan for the strategic forces to target mainland U.S."

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim works during a briefing in this undated photo.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

In this KCNA photo, Kim inspects naval drills at an undisclosed location on North Korea's east coast in March 2013.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim, with North Korean soldiers, makes his way to an observation post in March 2013.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim uses a pair of binoculars to look south from the Jangjae Islet Defense Detachment, near South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island, in March 2013.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim is greeted by a soldier's family as he inspects the Jangjae Islet Defense Detachment in March 2013.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim is surrounded by soldiers during a visit to the Mu Islet Hero Defense Detachment, also near Taeyonphyong Island, in March 2013.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim arrives at Jangjae Islet by boat to meet with soldiers of the Jangjae Islet Defense Detachment in March 2013.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Soldiers in the North Korean army train at an undisclosed location in March 2013.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

In a photo released by the official North Korean news agency in December 2012, Kim celebrates a rocket's launch with staff from the satellite control center in Pyongyang.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim, center, poses in this undated picture released by North Korea's official news agency in November 2012.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim visits the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground, under construction in Pyongyang, in a photo released in July 2012 by the KCNA.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

A crowd watches as statues of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il are unveiled during a ceremony in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

A North Korean soldier stands guard in front of an UNHA III rocket at the Tangachai-ri Space Center in April 2012.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

In April 2012, Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket that broke apart and fell into the sea. Here, the UNHA III rocket is pictured on its launch pad in Tang Chung Ri, North Korea.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

– A closer look at the UNHA III rocket on its launch pad in Tang Chung Ri, North Korea.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

A military vehicle participates in a parade in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

North Korean soldiers relax at the end of an official ceremony attended by leader Kim Jong Un at a stadium in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Kim Jong Un applauds as he watches a military parade in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

A North Korean soldier stands on a balcony in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

North Korean soldiers march during a military parade in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Soldiers board a bus outside a theater in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

North Korean performers sit below a screen showing images of leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

North Korean soldiers salute during a military parade in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

North Korean soldiers listen to a speech during an official ceremony attended by leader Kim Jong Un at a stadium in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

Members of a North Korean military band gather following an official ceremony at the Kim Il Sung stadium in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

North Korean military personnel watch a performance in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

A North Korean controller is seen along the railway line between the Pyongyang and North Pyongan provinces in April 2012.

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Photos:Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military

A North Korean military honor guard stands at attention at Pyongyang's airport in May 2001.

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Story highlights

U.S. and South Korean officials believe Pyongyang poised on a missile test

North Korea warns foreigners in South Korea to leave, following similar advice to diplomats

The test is designed "to defend the country's security and sovereignty in the face of the ferocious hostile act of the U.S.," the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency says at the time, referring to new U.S.-led sanctions.

"This nuclear test is our first measure, which displayed our maximum restraint. ... If the U.S. continues with their hostility and complicates the situation, it would be inevitable to continuously conduct a stronger second or third measure."

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Angered by U.N. Security Council sanctions over its nuclear test, North Korea threatens for the first time to launch a preemptive nuclear strike against the U.S. and South Korea.

It's one of a series of provocative threats and, in some cases, actions by North Korea that begin with Pyongyang saying it is scrapping the 1953 truce that effectively ended the Korean War. At the same time, it cuts off its direct phone links with South Korea at Panmunjom, the abandoned village that sits on the border between the two countries.

North Korea then doubles down on the threat, saying it is nullifying the joint declaration on the de-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. One of the country's top generals, according to published reports, claims Pyongyang has nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles that are ready to be fired.

Although U.S. officials don't believe North Korea is in a position to strike the United States, the Obama administration responds to the threat by announcing plans to deploy additional ground-based missile interceptors on the West Coast.

Pyongyang releases a new propaganda video that shows an imagined missile attack on U.S. government buildings in Washington, including the White House and the Capitol. The roughly four-minute video is posted on the YouTube channel of the North Korean government website, Uriminzokkiri.

North Korea threatens to attack U.S. and South Korea bases, putting its troops on alert. It announces through state-run media that the military is ready for combat. The threat follows claims that U.S. B-52 bombers again made flights over South Korea. Later it's revealed that F-22 Raptors and B-2 stealth bombers also take part in the U.S.-South Korea drills.

Pyongyang says it's readying rockets aimed at U.S. targets, releasing photos that show Kim meeting with military officials with strike plans on U.S. maps visible in the background. The North also cuts its last military hotline with South Korea.

April 2013

North Korea begins the month pledging to restart its Yongbyon nuclear complex, including a uranium enrichment plant and a reactor that was shut down under an agreement reached in October 2007 during talks among North Korea, the United States and four other nations. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry responds by warning the United States will not accept North Korea as a "nuclear state."

Later that week, Pyongyang warns that it cannot guarantee the safety of safety of embassies and international organizations in the event of armed conflict. It comes as a U.S. official tells CNN that two medium-range missiles have been loaded onto mobile launchers along North Korea's east coast.

Tensions then move to a joint industrial complex that serves as an important symbol of cooperation between the two countries. The Kaesong Industrial Complex sits on the North's side of the border but houses operations of scores of South Korean companies. Pyongyang blocks the entrance of hundreds of South Korean workers to Kaesong, where more than 50,000 North Koreans work, producing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of goods each year.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that various sporting events were happening or scheduled to take place to mark the 101st anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea and the grandfather of Kim Jong Un.

"The ongoing sports tournaments make the country seethe with holiday atmosphere," KCNA said. Kim Il Sung's birthday, known as the Day of the Sun, is a major public holiday in North Korea.